right now. >> shepard: chocolate milk. do your kids drink it? tonight, the push to ban it in schools. first, inside the white house walls and division over war and terror. i'm shepard smith. the news starts now. as the afghan war raged, some white house advisors were apparently fighting their own battles. tonight, a new book reveals the arguments. from the advisor who reportedly said the war strategy can't work, to the president's concern of losing a whole democratic party. and is the afghan president secretly bipolar? [chanting] >> shepard: it's the scandal that outraged the community. accusations that city officials were raking in huge salaries.

>> the complaint alleges they used the tax dollars collected from the hard-working citizens of bell as their own piggy bank. >> shepard: now the bell, california eight face a judge. and this woman is slated to die tomorrow for organizing two murders. supporters say her sentence is unfair but they are running out of time. tonight, fighting death in virginia. but first from fox this wednesday night, those reports of deep division within the white house about the afghan war. the details come from a book by bob woodward. the man who helped blow open the watergate scandal. now in obama's wars, woodward writes that. so president's top advisors tried to undermine each other as they debated the afghan strategy. the president set a withdrawal plan because he said, quote, i can't lose the whole democratic party. but there is word even the president's special representative for the region didn't believe the war strategy. the "new york times" reports the book quotes richard holbrooke as

saying "it can't work." the book's other details of disagreement and fiction include vice president biden once calling holbrook the most ego tis particular call bastard he had ever met. disrespect between mike mullen and james cart write and colonel david petraeus telling somebody he didn't like talking to advisor david axelrod because in his words axelrod was a complete spin doctor. the white house is reacting to all of this and saying it shouldn't be that much of a surprise. jen on fox top story. what do they mean. >> sources tell me, shep, the white house cooperated with woodward, giving him transcripts from classified situation room debates. the quotes so previce they could only be from a transcript. the white house is also pleased because president obama is shown to be plotting an exit strategy from afghanistan which is good for him politically with his democratic base.

>> shepard: hey, woodward also writes that the cia is running what he calls a secret parliamentary team -- i should say paramilitary team, parliamentary might be more effective. what are the details here. >> yes. 3,000-strong afghan paramilitary group that is supposed to go after top al qaeda leaders. top senior official told me it hasn't yielded much and the cia had considered business disbanding it more that the afghan president is manic-depressive. the u.s. ambassador is quoted saying he is on his meds, off his meds. not very diplomatic language out in kabul. >> shepard: not very diplomatic at all. jen in kabul tonight. making clear it is ready for a military battle as well if it comes that. iran showing off a high tech missile which it says is capable of hitting targets as far as away as europe. the 150-mile range of this

missile easily puts in reach israel and several other military bases in the region. jonathan hunt our chief fox report correspondent in the newsroom tonight. iran's missile program seems to have grown dramatically in recent years. >> absolutely, shep. it's become more sophisticated. the rake of the missiles getting that much longer. according to experts we spoke to today iran is absolutely determined to develop a missile system that can pretty much threaten anyone and everyone. listen. >> iran has a dedicated program to improve its missiles. this is an improvement on a previous missile. it has solid fuel rather than liquid fuel. it's going to be more accurate. they are dedicated to this because they don't have any sort of air defense. >> and, shep, while it can obviously be used as a defense mechanism, the fear obviously is that these missiles could also be used for preemptive attack, shep. >> shepard: there seems to be a fear they could put a nuclear war head on the thing and ratchet this whole thing up? >> that of course, would be an

absolute game changer. they have if you like, these twin tracks developing right now. their nuclear development and their missile development. but the great fear is that at some point those two tracks converge into one. they put a nuclear war head on top of one of these long range missiles. then they really can threaten peace in the entire world. although the experts also tell us that they are probably several years, at least, away from being able to do that shep. >> shepard: all this came front and center as part of an event that marks 30 years since the start of the iraq/iran war. elsewhere in iran today a deadly attack. >> yes. an attack on a military parade designed to mark the start of that iran/iraq war. this happened as you can just see there in northwest iran. the attack probably, according to the iranians, and according to experts we spoke, to carried out by kurdish separatists, not link to the ongoing problems that president ahmadinejad is having within tehran itself

where he is being challenged by other factions within the iranian leadership. one of the reasons he wants to make a big impression here in new york at the united nations this week is to show the iranian people that he is a big deal on the world stage. experts we spoke to, shep, say he has had some success in doing that because he has got a lot of media attention. that gives him extra strength back home and apparently he really needs it right now. >> shepard: jonathan hunt live in our new york newsroom. thanks. the bell eight. eight former and current city officials in little bell, california who reportedly paid themselves millions in tax dollars today making their first court appearance. mugshots for you. prosecutors charge they swindled more than $5.5 million in public funds in a city where one in six persons lives in poverty. this man alone the former city manager robert rizzo allegedly made about $4 million through a salary twice the size that of the president of the united

states and various firestone city contracts. today the whole gang sat in front of a judge supporting jail suits and handcuffs. they did not enter pleas as expected. william la jeunesse outside los angeles county superior court where this all went down. this was supposed to be an arraignment. what happened? >> well, shepard, in los angeles, whether or not you are a flight risk, whether or not you have felony priors, you can't use ill gotten or illegally obtained money to post bail. the d.a. argued five of these 8 city officials were trying to use tainted money to post bond. the d.a. also said the defendants, while long-time residents with families, could leave the country and they opposed reducing bail. the judge by and large agreed and said unless these guys can make bail with clean money they will stay in jail until a new arraignment in date in one month. their attorneys were disappointed. >> we contend that they are innocent and the funds were not stolen. moneys paid to them pursuant to

contract. >> the d.a. has no evidence and there is no evidence that ms. spash shah did any favors or engaged in any other illegal conduct. >> they got money from friends and relatives and they can get out of jail. >> shepard: the charges are excessive salaries. there looks like there may be a lot more to, this huh? >> the state controller today issued new findings that the city of bell doubled taxes and fees on the residents without telling voters and then used that money to pay for raises for the city manager and his assistant. the state controller also said they got 50 million in bond money for, quote, no apparent reason. and, finally, they mysteriously paid $10 million to a horse racing partner of the city manager with no explanation. basically, they concluded bell had overtaxed its people, shepard, $5.6 million. and if that money is refunded, as it is supposed to, the city will probably be broke. back to you. >> shepard: william la jeunesse

on a loud street corner. thank you. the president says he blames himself. he blames himself for not doing a better job of selling the health care overhaul to all of us americans. well, he tried again today. some of the new rules in the law are about to take effect. how your coverage could change just ahead. and a new claim about what really sank the titanic. a survivor's granddaughter claims there was a huge coverup and we have never heard the real story until now. from the journalists of fox news, this is "the fox report." ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] every siness day, bank of america lends billions of dollars, to individuals, institutions, schools, organizations and businesses. ♪ working to set opportunity in motion.

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because it's not just your allergies, it's your eyes. >> shepard: six months after the president signed health care overhaul into law, some of its new rules are about to take effect now. and the president held yet another backyard town hall meeting in virginia to try to tell americans what it means for us. starting tomorrow, kids can stay on their parents' plans until the age of 26. insurance companies have to offer free preventive care like

mammograms and cholesterol tests and they cannot deny coverage to children with preexisting conditions or cancel policies when people get sick or set lifetime limits on benefits. >> all these things are designed not to have government for involved in health care. they are designed to make sure that you have basic protections in your interactions with your insurance company, that you are getting what you pay for. >> shepard: who can argue with that? well the g.o.p. chairman michael steele said, quote: the clearly he needs to get control of the message. our white house correspondent mike emanuel is traveling with the president who is speaking here in new york at the united nations. you know, his base had said you have got to do a better sell job. i went to some of their sites today and it looks like they are

pretty happy. >> yeah. today was a different setting. he was in a backyard in suburban virginia with 20 people who believe strongly in health care plan the difference this is making in their lives and their families it was a very personalized approach to health care. the president admitted quite candidly that he should have done a better job selling it up front, shep. >> shepard: i thought there was a sign. lots of democratic candidates are talking about health care none of them are. they lost control of the narrative. >> republicans are running on we are going to repeal health care first chance we get. democrats are recognizing from the polls that essentially they believe that jobs, the economy are bigger issues on the agenda for the american public. and so democrats aren't talking about it. the white house says that's okay because they have got to win their own districts. bottom line though, the message has gotten away from them. >> shepard: you are in town with the president. where does he stay? in an undisclosed location. >> exactly right. >> shepard: you guys enjoy that welcome to new york.

good to see you. the president may soon be looking for a new chief of staff. fox news has now confirmed rahm emanuel could step down as early as october. he is still thinking about running for mayor of chicago. even the president says he doesn't know what the decision will be. sources say if rahm emanuel does decide to run, things will, quote, move very quickly. medical examiner in the state of connecticut talked about the final moments of one victim. accused of breaking into a home in 2007 and taking the entire family of four hostage. today we learned their family's 11-year-old daughter likely had a painful panic stricken death choking on smoke after someone set her bed on fire. one of the suspects had already raped and tortured her. the girl adied along with her older sister and her mother. the badly injured father somehow managed to escape and alert neighbors to then called the cops.

well, it's happened more than -- fewer i guess a dozen times 25 years the execution of a woman. tomorrow the state of virginia is scheduled to put this woman to death. but tonight there are some very tough new questions about her case and we'll get into it. and, first, it was the mortgage meltdown. then the prices tumbled. then the market fell apart. now realtors in one area have another concern. their own safety. fox reports on a string of attacks including on this man. that's coming up. ♪

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>> shepard: executing a woman. tomorrow the state of virginia will do exactly that. carry out the nation's first execution of a female since 2005. that is unless there is a last-minute change of heart by the governor. theresa louis pleaded guilty in a case of hired murder,

admitting that in 2002 she gave sex and money to two men in exchange for them killing her husbandenned her own stepson. advocates claim she is now a changed woman and that she should not face execution while the two convicted killers only got life sentences. but despite the support of justices ruth bader ginsburg and sonia sotomayor, the supreme court has refused to block her execution. trace gallagher with the news. trace, lewis has exhausted all of her options now, right. >> she really has, shep. the virginia governor bob mcdonald says he will not stop this execution at the 11th hour. mcdonnell says he has fully reviewed the case and there is no compelling reason to grant clemency. so now theresa lewis' lawyer has issued a statement quoting here saying a good and decent person is about to lose her life because of a system that is broken. but the judge who sentenced theresa lewis paints a very different picture, calling her the head of the serpent.

saying that she was a cold, emotionalless killer who was only motivated by money. that judge, by the way, actually gave her two death sentences and then tacked on 53 years. shep? >> shepard: the supreme court reinstated the death penalty a quarter century ago. since then governments in the united states have only executed 11 women. now the president of iran is drawing parallels somehow between this case and another one that's gained a lot of attention from his country. >> yeah. it's actually the case of a woman named astini she was the woman sentenced to death by stoning because of adultery. that sentence by the way for now has been put on hold. but iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad is accusing the west of launching a major propaganda campaign to save her life while not reacting at all to the imminent execution of theresa lewis. critics point out that double homicide and adultery are very,

very different cases and we should note that ahmadinejad made those comments to a group of islamic clerics in new york yesterday, shep. >> shepard: trace gallagher live for us tonight. trace, thanks a lot. here at home a prominent religious leader in the state of georgia now faces a third lawsuit in which a woman accuses him -- actually, in which he has pressured young men into sex. according to local reports, a lawyer filed the suit against bishop eddie long this afternoon. he leads the new birth missionary baptist church which is outside atlanta, a huge church. in the lawsuits, three young men accuse him of using trips and cars and cash to in he essence bribe them into having sex. two of the men accuse long starting inappropriate relationships when they were but 16 years old and attending the church. that is the age of consent but, still, records show one of the men was arrested for burglarizing long's church

earlier this year. as it turns out this preacher is known for preaching loudly against any homosexual behavior. long's attorney categorically denies the allegations calling them retaliation and a shakedown. a church spokesman says pastor long will hold a news conference tomorrow morning. a sheriff in ohio warning realtors do not go out on appointments alone. this morning after the murders of two agents who were showing homes. police say they found the latest victim inside an empty house in twin lakes, which is about half way between dayton and columbus. 51-year-old andy vonstein's wife called 911 reporting him missing yesterday when he didn't come home from work. >> i called on star and they called the car and said there was no response from inside the car. i'm so scared. >> shepard: i'm scared, she said. police say the on star device led them to his body. we're told somebody shot and apparently robbed him. investigators say they have a person of interest in the case.

someone killed another ohio realtor on monday and robbed a third agent a few weeks ago. they are wondering if one person or one group of people might be responsible. new concerns about a terror threat coming from inside the united states. just ahead, reports of the increased danger from homegrown terrorists. plus, one hell of a car chase through the streets of south florida. >> this is very, very dangerous. very dangerous here. >> shepard: the driver flew through intersections. flipped through other cars, even drove up on to the sidewalk. >> there you go. watch it there. there it goes. >> shepard: when the car chase ended, the drama didn't stop. >> we have one guy being dragged by his heel. >> all the action coming up. i was a bookkeeper for 34 years.

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>> shepard: a few suspects blasted through the streets of two south florida counties today during a wild police chase. the cops say it all started when they tried to pull over this suspicious vehicle as the guy just took off. >> obviously this person at this time is making a series of bad decisions here. now weaving around to the left side of that vehicle. >> shepard: that's ralph rayburn in sky force 7: we are told that white car hit speeds of 100 miles per hour on i-75 before the driver turned on to the side streets. the chase went from broward county down into miami-dade and then on to the sidewalk. >> he is going to pull into here, looks like a bailout is

occurring here. a door was open. the door is open again. police officers now a collision there between a broward sheriff's office vehicle as it makes a right hand turn here. >> shepard: finally one police car nudged the suspect's rear bumper, performing what they call a pit maneuver that ended the car chase once and for all. >> there it goes. there is the tip drill, collides with two other vehicles. people inside, there is going to be a bailout. one person running and another person with their hands up. >> police ran down all three suspects. and used a tase tore subdue at least one of them. >> he is on the ground. suspect is in the custody being dragged out here. one guy being dragged by his heel. >> shepard: there is moment you may have missed in all this action. watch what happens after the suspect's car hits that other one just parked there see the big cloud of smoke just pouring right out the door? wonder what that is? and it looked like police later pulled out the driver of that car and put him in cuffs. and they did. but it turns out police didn't actually end up arresting the

guy. and as it turns out, that big cloud of smoke for which we all had a lot of hopes was actually the powder from the air bag deploying. i'm shepard smith. this is the fox report. it's the bottom of the hour. time for the top of the news. a brand new warning about the threat of homegrown terror. top national security officials telling congressional died and its off chutes are changing their strategy to focus on recruiting americans to attack the united states. >> based on cases from the past year, homegrown extremists are more sophisticated, harder to detect and better able to connect with other extremists. in certain cases, they are more operationally capable than we we have previously seen. >> shepard: the fbi director says terrorists are also better getting around the increased security that we have seen since the attacks of 9/11 catherine herridge on from d.c. tonight. the national counter terror chief says al qaeda is actually weaker than it used to be but

the more is more complicated, i guess. >> that's right, shep. the head of the national terrorism center the country's help for analyzing threat information says al qaeda has metastasized with yemen afill united states gaining strength. >> the range of al qaeda core affiliated and allies plotting against the homeland during the past year suggests the threat has, in fact, grown far more complex and underscores the challenges of identifying encountering a more diverse array of threats to the homeland. >> as one example fox news has seen internal justice department report which shows that 41 americans had been charged with class one terrorism cases since january of last year. and a class one case is a case that has a direct connection to an international terrorist group, shep. >> shepard: they pointed out again today that there is more than one kind of homegrown threat here. >> that's correct. there are essentially two threats now. americans who become radicalized right here in the u.s. and

launch attacks and those who take a more traditional route and travel overseas for training. two faces to watch in the future omar hammami voice for somalia and there on the right you see the american cleric in yemen anwar al-awlaki. in the case of al awlaki u.s. officials say he has taken on a role plotting attacks against the u.s. al qaeda yemen example how al qaeda affiliate gone global in the sense that al qaeda in yemen launched the attacks of the christmas day bombing. shep? >> shepard: the lead story on this program last night was about a big security push in southern yemen to take out this group and one very big leader. where does that stand now. >> well, tonight, shep, a yemeni official tells fox that as a result of that push into the south, specifically the province of schwabb with a where al lack can a is expected to be hiding two dozen members picked up. units are still searching the area. that said, there is no

confirmation that al awlaki was among that group, shep. >> shepard: catherine herridge in d.c. tonight. thanks. >> you're welcome. >> shepard: jury selection began today for the first civilian trial for a detainee at the military prison in guantanamo bay, cuba. about 400 perspective jurors filled out questionnaires today at a federal courthouse here in manhattan. prosecutors and lawyers are to use the information to select a jury for this man who prosecutors charged in connection with the 19 8 u.s. embassy bombings that killed more than 200 people in africa. the judge said the jurors in this case will remain anonymous. six of the world's biggest economic and military powers today meeting at the united nations and then offering iran yet another chance to return to the nuclear bargaining table. in a joint statement top diplomats from the united states, britain, china, france, germany and russia said:

we're told in iran does not play ball with this group a new round of economic punishments could be on the horizon. our senior correspondent eric shawn live on manhattan's east side at the united nations headquarters tonight. eric, one of the meetings didn't go well today, it would seem. >> yeah, you are right, shep. there are those offers for new talks but one meeting ended badly between iranian foreign minister and william hague. hague tried to convince iranian counter part that iran should fully cooperate with the u.n. but we're told that meeting ended without a, quote, meeting of the minds. but there was a setback for iran today and it came from russia. russia in a surprise announced it will not sell sophisticated is s missiles, missiles worth almost a billion dollars that tehran could have placed around its nuclear facilities to protect them in case there is a military attack.

shep? >> shepard: usually when this stuff goes on there are a lot of protests going on. it happened today, right. >> yeah there is a protest every single day against mahmoud ahmadinejad. yesterday it was jewish and christian leaders. today, iranian americans. they loudly chanted across the street from the u.n. about ahmadinejad saying kick him out, kick him out. well, no one is going to do that ahmadinejad is staying here for a couple of more days. tomorrow afternoon he will address the united nations general assembly where he is expected to, once again, defend his nation and defend the disputed nuclear program. >> shepard: eric shawn live at the u.n. thanks. the titanic went down because of steering author. granddaughter of the most senior officer to survive the 1912 disaster which killed more than 1500 people. that writer tells a british newspaper that the titanic's steersman panicked after the crew spotted that iceberg and turned the wrong way. the novelist also claims the

chairman of ship's owner persuaded the captain to keep sailing after the crash, which made it sink even more quickly. the author claims her relative covered up the error because he was worried it would bankrupt the ship's owners and cost his colleagues their jobs. law enforcement officials say it's a simple fix for a huge problem in prisons across the country. ahead, the fight to block inmates from using cell phones behind bars. come on. they can't get a cell phone. wait until you hear this. and why the government hasn't acted yet. and new tonight, we're getting our first look at the republicans' midterm playbook. it crossed huge urgent flash bullets today from the associated press. the republicans pledge to america. not contract this time but pledge. what it means for the upcoming elections. plus, papa bear himself. bill o'reilly. there he is. ha ha. he was our guest on "studio b" this afternoon. and in a little while, you'll

hear him with jon stewart. today what he had to say about the president, the tea party, and his children and his future. >> i have been very lucky in my life. i have been to 75 countries. i have seen it all. i don't really have a bucket list like that. when it stops being fun, i will get out. i think. >> shepard: it's still fun. >> bill: some days but it's a war. it coming. i didn't realize i was drifting into the other lane. [ kim ] i was literally falling asleep at the wheel. it got my attention, telling me that i wasn't paying attention. i had no idea the guy in front of me had stopped short. but my car did. my car did. thankfully, my mercedes did. [ male announcer ] a world you can't predict... demands a car you can trust. the e-class. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial. ♪ just don't feel like they used to. are you one of them? remember when you had more energy

for 18 holes with your buddies? [ glass shatters ] more passion for the one you love? more fun with your family and friends? it could be a treatable condition called low testosterone, or low t. c'mon, stop living in the shadows. you've got a life to live. [ male announcer ] so don't blame it on aging. talk to your doctor and go to isitlowt.com to find out more.

like medicare. this year, like always, we'll have our guaranteed benefits. and with the new healthcare law, more good things are coming: free check-ups, lower prescription costs, and better ways to protect us and medicare from fraud. see what else is new. i think you're gonna like it. ♪

>> shepard: now chocolate milk, it's been a staple of school lunches for decades. my brother wouldn't drink the other kind so that's all. tonight there is word from florida that they may soon ban chocolate milk from school cafeteria from coast to coast. something several cities across florida have already done. according to local reports members of the state board of education are considering a plan to cut sugary drinks from schools which makes sense to people allow only water, pure apple and regular low fat milk. all due to concerns about childhood obesity. the state board now asking

doctors and researchers to weigh in on the proposal. reports indicate the board is planning a new thorough review in december. it's the war on chocolate milk. it begins in the sunshine state. a new push to block cell phones in prison. or at least the signals that go to the cell phone. it's actually happening in south carolina where the governor and several top law enforcement officials are pushing federal regulators to let them block certain phone transmissions within prisons. officials say the inmates can use cell phones to plot crimes and attacks with those on the outside. one corrections officer says that's exactly what happened to him. catherine robert johnson says he was nearly killed in a hit that an inmate planned using a smuggled cell phone. earlier today he made an emotional call for action. >> i would not have this cane. my surety would not be out hiding something i wouldn't want you to see. i wouldn't be walking the way i am walking now. i wouldn't have a wheelchair in my house nor would i have a pot that i have to set up on to use

the commode. i would not have those things if it had not been for cell phones. >> shepard: he doesn't want it to happen to anybody else. how do they get cell phones in there? sometimes they put them inside a football or potato and slingshot them catapult style over the fence. they will do almost anything. jonathan serrie live tonight in colombia, south carolina. how widespread is this problem? >> very widespread. routine searches of south carolina prisons turned up more than 2,000 cell phones and accessories just in the past year. it's estimated that 500 additional phones or more may have gone undetected. they are really hard to keep out and most cases people on the outside simply throw phones to inmates over bashed wire fences, shep. >> shepard: cell phone industry though is fighting tooth and nail the idea of jamming signals anywhere, even in prisons. >> that's right. trade industry groups fear that the jamming signals will go beyond prison walls and interfere with legitimate communications. listen to this.

>> while the solution needs to be found that addresses this problem, we can't have the solution cause problems for law abiding citizens or for public safety uses of wireless. >> but south carolina corrections officials insist the technology that they're pushing for can be targeted and contained to individual buildings or even rooms. shep? >> shepard: jonathan serrie down in columbia. jonathan, good to see you. news bites now. a 17-year-old australia school boy claims he is the kid behind the twitter hack that sent users to japanese porn sites shutting down the social networking site for hours. the boy lives with his parents. he says he exposed a security flaw when he tweeted over a piece of java code. iphone users are very interested in dumping at&t for verizon if verizon picks up the smart phone, that's according to a new study from the consulting

firm. at&t's ceo claims the company is not worried about losing customers at the conclusion of the exclusive deal with apple. more americans continue to buy ereaders like amazon kendall and barnes & noble nook. 8% of americans now use e-readers another 12% plan to buy one over the next six months. tonight on the big factor which is 16 minutes from now, a clash of titans. an old west showdown you don't want to miss. our old friend papa bear mr. bill owe rile little sitting with that funny guy the comedian on the daily show jon stewart. his or her is just a bit of a taste of what's to come. >> obama remorse. some people who voted for him, as you saw delma hart the other day, we voted for the hope and the dream. it ain't happening. do you, jon stewart, have obama remorse. >> i think people feel a disappointment in that there was a sense that oh jesus will walk on water and now you are looking

at look at that he is just threading water. oh, look, his head is going down. >> bill: did you buy the messiah thing. >> look, i don't buy the messiah thing with the messiah thing. >> shepard: bill visited with us on "studio b" to talk about all of it. >> shepard: how was jon stewart. >> good. he and i went back and forth. >> shepard: he coined a new word pintriot. >> oh him? i don't listen to anyone. >> shepard: what's a pintriot. i don't know. we will find out in 14 minutes when "the o'reilly factor" begins right here. fox news is america's election headquarters. republicans tonight have now defined their platform as they approach the midterm elections. elections in which analysts say they are poised to take away seats from the democrats. g.o.p. leaders circulated today what they call their pledge to

america. not contract, pledge. and it comes a day before they officially unveil it the document draws on some of the antigovernment anger we have seen in recent months, vowing republicans will repeal the democrats' health care overhaul. cancel the bailouts of the banks. republicans also promising to cut spending by the government and put it to prestimulus and bailout levels. they want to give lawmakers at least three days to read each bill before they vote on it. as far as i can tell, nothing there about housing and nothing about jobs. tonight, the house speaker nancy pelosi responded to the document saying republicans want to return to the same failed economic policies that hurt millions of measures and threatened our economy. two powerful border state politician politicians facing off on immigration after a draft and possible pole policy changes goes public. one calling it back door amnesty and the other saying it's been misconstrued. we'll report. you decide.

plus, thinking of taking the family out for a football game. prices are going up. wait until you hear how much. don't get me started. in the meantime, get a front row seat to one of the biggest political races on our web site. go to foxnews.com, click on the politics tab and let's get it started. ♪ let's get it started in here ♪ yeah ♪ lose control ♪ body of soul ♪ itch, don't wait for your pills to kick in. choose alaway, from the eye health experts at usch lomb. it works in minutes and up to 12 hours. bausch & lomb alaway. because it's not just your allergies, it's your eyes. because it's not just your allergies, desperate for nighttime heartburn relief?

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>> shepard: we saw a new battle over border security today featuring two big names from politics in arizona. the state's former governor and current homeland security secretary janet napolitano squared off with the arizona senator john mccain at a hearing just hours ago. >> what we have done in the past two years is put more resources at the southwest border than ever before. both in terms of federal and

providing resources to the states. >> from my visits to the southern part of our state, they don't see this dramatic improvement, madam secretary. in fact, they're more worried than they have ever been. >> shepard: secretary napolitano acknowledged the situation at the border is serious. she says the statistics are quite clear the department's efforts are producing results. molly henneberg with the news tonight in washington. hi? >> hi, shep. the immigrations enforcement agency or ice has deported more convicted illegals this year than last. almost 52,000 more. take a look at a graphic. we have some -- look at noncriminal illegals deported. that has dropped off by almost 54,000. some republicans are questioning why illegals without criminal history seem to get a pass. >> they are either here ill illegally or not. if they are here illegally are they deboratted or not it? >> depends on the availability, the seriousness of the offender and availability of bed space.

>> this comes after ice posted a draft memo this summer suggesting that immigration officers should not detain, quote, an alien charged only with a traffic-related misdemeanor unless or until the alien is convicted, presents a danger to national security, or a genuine risk to public safety. secretary napolitano says this is, quote, guidance, allowing immigration officers to focus on the most dangerous illegal also. but in a letter to the secretary, seven g.o.p. senators on the judiciary committee suggested the administration is trying to skirt the law by, quote, dramatically narrowing its efforts to remove whole classes of illegal immigrants. shep? >> shepard: molly henneberg live in d.c. good. thank you. your favorite pro-football games aren't making it easier to catch a game. the company that tracks the cost of pro sports events reports sundays are becoming expensive for fans. according to the report the average cost for four nfl tickets, four small beers are four corners small sodas, two

programs and adjustable hats is more than $420. that's increase of 4% over last year's prices. the cowboys with that fancy new thing they opened last year in which they are not winning very well are at the top of the list with the average game cost for a family of four running above 600 bucks. the giants and jets have a new stadium as well. they are both in the top five. and the least expensive place to catch a game jacksonville, please come, please come. average game costs just more than 300 bucks. some brand new faces on "american idol." >> please welcome to "american idol," steven tyler. yes. steven tyler finding a new career on "american idol." the aerosmith front man. so who else will be at the judge's table? details ahead plus, paris hilton, running into some trouble trying to deal with japan. security officials wouldn't let her in and then there was out

problem. poor paris. she should have stayed at a holiday inn express. ha. [ male announcer ] this is rachel, a busy mom.

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>> shepard: top stories are coming up but first japanese immigration officials sending our paris hilton packing two days after pleading guilty to probation violation in vegas. strict immigration law that bars entry of those convicted of drug offenses. sometimes they grant exceptions but this was not one of those times. >> i'm going back home. i'm looking forward to coming back to japan in the future. i love everyone. can't wait to see my fans when i come back. [inaudible] >> i'm really tired. >> where are you headed now? >> shepard: she is tired. japan has a history of banning celebrities with drug trouble like the rockers mick jagger and paul mccartney and soccer star. foxfox announcing "american ido" owned by the parent company of

this network judges are steven tyler from aerosmith and jennifer lopez. they will join the only remaining original judge randy jackson. >> we have got a great legacy from the past but now we want to talk about the future. >> between heart and passion and street cred. this is going to be a ricter scale event. >> shepard: i bet it will. it returns in january down the dial on the big fox network. now updating some of fox top stories tonight bob woodward reporting in a new book that there was a lot of infighting in the white house about how to handle the war in afghanistan. a white house official reportedly says there is no surprise there was a vigorous debate. iran now showing off a new missile, one it says can reach reportedly america's ally israel and parts of europe. and a state controller says that leaders in bell, california used the city's accounts like the petty cash drawer and mishandled $50 million while paying themselves huge salaries. the current and former officials are set to be arraigned next

month. and on this day in 1985, dozens of the biggest names in music took to the stage in illinois for the very first farm aid concert. bob dylan usually gets credit for the idea because of a remark he made on stage earlier on stage that year. willie nelson, neil young and john mellen camp who got the ball rolling. the plan raised money for the millions of farmers in america struggling to make ends meet. some politicians expressed interest. on the day of the concert 80,000 fans showed up at the university of illinois' memorial stadium on the bill everybody from the beach boys to johnny cash to lou read. musicians bet the farm on it 25 years ago today. and now you know the news for this wednesday, september 22nd, 2010. i'm shepard smith. thanks for having us into your place tonight. we're all back tomorrow, noon pacific time, 3:00 eastern time for "studio b." back